VOL XIV. NO. XVII.
KST ABLISHKD IN 1880
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8 OBSERVATIONS.
1
i'00
Colonel Stotsenburg's death while
leading a charge against the insurgent
Filipinos last Saturday was received
with genuine grief here, and wher
ever the knowledge of his soldierly
qualities, his self-control, patriotism
and bravery have been disseminated.
The attention of the country has been
directed to his record, to the conduct
of the First Nebraska, Its discipline,
responsiveness, and eagerness to re
main In Manila as long as the situa
tion requires. Not one of the com
panies In Manila has a more brilliant
reputation than the First Nebraska.
As In a baseball or football team
which wins the pennant at the end of
the season, the victory Ib not due to
this or that brilliant play, but to the
harmony responsiveness, and perfect
discipline of the whole team under
the leadership of the captain, the
credit of the conduct of the First
Nebraska, the series of apparent ac
cidents of position which has placed
It In the forefront of every fray Is the
result of Colonel Stotsenburg's luces
sunt drill and the consequent readi
ness of his men to take the positions
of greatest peril and responsibility.
Every loyal Nebraskan bitterly re
grets that he will not now have an
opportunity of expressing his appre
ciation to the steadfast Colonel for
his conduct on the Manila battle
tlelds and the stern preparation of his
troops for the moments when the
Issue of tho battle would be decided
by their obedience and steadiness un
der lire. The consciousness that tho
conduct of such a soldier and such a
man should receivo a reprimand from
the Nebraska legislature oppresses
everyone who has followed the news
paper accounts of the Manila cam
paign. The attention of the rest of
the country is directed to the act of
the legislature in asking for the
transference of Colonel StotBcnburg
and the conclusions in regard to the
Intelligence of the legislature are not
llattcring to the state.
What grief our criticism caused
Colonel Stotsenburg we do not know,
because he did not say anything, he
had not acquired the newspaper habit,
but hesecms to have been determined
to show to the stupidest and most
prejudiced Nebraskan that he was a
brave soldier as well as a good discip
linarian and an irreproachable officer.
When the history of the war is
written the name of Colonel Stotsen
burgwill be among the distinguished
few and we will not begrudge it to
him, for inseparably, connected with
his name will be that of the First Ne
braska and its gallant conduct on the
battlefields of Manila.
Mrs. Stotsenburg is in Manila and
will probably bring the body of
Colonel Stoteenburg home. In that
long journey across the wide Pacific
she will be accompanied by the sym
pathy of all Nebraska, and of all the
men md woman, In the army and out,
who knew the reserved duty-bound,
intrepid Colonel Stotsenburg.
Charles Sumner was beaten and
nearly killed in 183(i in the United
States senate for making the speech
against slavery called the Crime
against Kansas. After three years of
suffering and of heroic treatment he
returned to the senate and delivered
a speech on "The Barbarism of
Slavery," in which he emphasized the
effect of Slavery upon the master of
slaves. What he said about the in
Ilucnce upon the character of men
who held other men, like dogs, in a
leash, has been completely demon
strated by the barbaric treatment of
colored men by the whites o' the
south since the war. The Georgia
mob which cut off the negro Hose's
fingers, curs and nose, and after burn
ing him alive, fought over the po
session ot scraps of his heart and
bones, is certainly not more civi
lized than savages who kill prisoners
by slow torture. The crime the negro
commitled was abominable, but legal
punishment was absolutely sure. Ig
norant and debased, his crime was no
more horrible than murders commit
ted by white men in the north every
week. To be Bare, these white men
are of low grade birth with a criminal
ancestry that has been killing and
robbing since their ancestor Cain
first developed the homicidal germ.
The negro's crime is not discouraging,
because it is an isolated case, but the
report that three thousand men and
women, of Georgia, (even though it be
true that they belong to the poor, de
graded, lazy white trash of the south,)
dismembered a negro and fought over
the possession of fragments of his
body for souvenirs, is evidence of
a very low average of civilization
There are cultured, gentle and Just
citizens of Georgia who tried to stop
the exhibition of brutality which has
resulted in the lowering of the repu
tation of the state. But they had ap
parently no iutluence upon the mob
they addressed, and the shocking
murder which placed the mob on a
level with 'he negro took place. Be
fore he died, lie accused a negro
preacher of inciting him to murder
the farmer, and with no more evidence
than this, the old preacher, whose
reputation was good and who had
never harmed any one was hung, pro
testing his innocence with Ills last
breath .
It is not pity for the negroes, more
than consideration for justice and a
desire to stop the brutalizing of a
people, which should induce the gov
ernor and proper authorities of
Georgia to Bcvcreiy punish the leaders
of this mob. Unless these barbaric
exhibitions can be punished the pace
that Georgia lias already set back to
savagery may be quickened. As afore
said, It Is not that the negro was
lynched but bhat the mob was so
large, so unanimous, and because the
newspapers of tne section only half
condemn the action of the mob.
Kansas City has an ordinance re
quiring all milk dealers to be licensed
and all milk sold by them must con
tain three per cent butter fat. Well,
of course every ordinance with a pen
alty must have an inspector and the
milk inspector of Kansas City, taking
samples at random from several dairy
wagons, discovered that the milk con
tained only 2G percent of butter fat,
an indication either of diluted milk
or of very poor milch cows. Two
dairymen were lined five hundred dol
lars for selling such low grade milk,
and another was fined five hundred
dollars and had liia license revoked.
Both the line and the revocation of
license seem an excessive penalty for
such a misdemeanor. In consequence
of the trial of the three dairymen, the
chemical analysis of the milk and the
fines assessed against them doubtless
the milk was enriched on every break
fast table in Kansas City the day after
the city read the report of tho trial.
If there Is not an ordiancc in Lin
coln fixing the per cent of butter fat
in the milk sold here, there should be.
Most of it is blue and thin and the
per cent, from appearances, will not
average 2.0 of butter fat. Milk deal
ers say that it is Impossible to ship
milk oi cart it about a city unless
water be added, but the city council
ought to make an official recipe with
a penalty and milk inspector attach
ment, to insure milk customers from
nvestlng In too much water.
The voluntary retircmentof Speaker
Thomas B. Reed of Maine from the
leadership of congress, and from a
commanding position In the republi
can party because he has been offered
something better in New York, Is one
of a number of similar cases, wherein
a public position has been declined
for a more remunerative private one.
Mr. Reed made his reputation In con
gress, or rather tho newspapers recog
nized his remarkable character and
presented him with several million
dollars worth of advertising. The
law firm Is guaranteeing Mr. Ueed
fifty thousand dollars a year, because
he will give the linn a national repu
tation There are other lawyers just
as orllliant, just as able, and Just as
obstinate and opinionated us Mr.
Reed, but so long as nobody knows It,
the use of their name Is of no especial
value to a wealthy and long estab
lished law firm. This gift on which
Mr. Reed is drawing fifty thousand
dol'ars a year interest was presented
to him by the newspapers of the
United States. There is little reason
to believe that he realizes his indebt
edness or that he feels any gratitude
to the newspapers, but reflection must
convince him that his virile obstinacy,
ills ability to rapidly come to an un
precedented conclusion, and his in
difference to verbal assaults, have
been converted into assets by the
newspapers. 'Ihe constant creation
or values by the newspapers give them
an added title to he classed as pro
ducers. Captain Coghlan is under a curious
misapprehension if he thinks the
American people do not appreciate
Admiral Dewey. He seems to feel
that he needs an interpreter, a media
tor, when In reality Admiral Dewey
Is in complete rapport with the
American people. Like General Grant,
Admiral Dewey Is laconic and Captain
Coghlan had evidently an incorrect
understanding of his character when
he said that the admiral would have
repeated the Hoch der Kaiser poem,
or made the remarks in regard to
German interference at Manila. Ad
miral Dewey is a man of discretion
and does not put an enemy in his
mouth to take away his brains, asCap
taln Coghlan apparently does. The Jut
ter is a brave sailor and has done the
United States good service, hut in his
cups he is a magpie and unless his
character and condition had been ex
plained to the German ambassador,
might have Involved the country in a
series of cmbarassing explanations
with and apologies to Germany.
'Ihe tendency of the training given
children in the public schools is to
wards the vocalization of every idea
which strikes them, the quicker vocal
ized the better. The pupil who can
answer the largest number of ques.
tlons in the least time has the reputa
tion of being the cleverest. For re
flection, contemplation, a careful and
judicial weighing of the parts of a
problem there Is no time, and, my Im
pression is, that all suspension of
opinion during tho processes of